Sonic Highways World Tour

American rock superstars Foo Fighters will play their first Christchurch show at AMI Stadium on February 18 in front of a 30,000-capacity crowd.

The South Island show launches their Australasian tour which also includes a show at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on February 21.

It will be a massive event for Christchurch, with the date timed to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the 2011 earthquakes. It will also be the first live music event held at AMI Stadium.

"It will be a chance for the Foos to see the city's progress first hand, and meet some of the people they have helped," says Darren Burden, Vbase general manager.

"Christchurch has never seen anything quite like this."

AMI Stadium will be transformed from a sporting turf into a giant stage venue for the show.

Burden says the stadium will be ready to welcome more than 30,000 fans.

"It's something we have been working hard to make happen. It's a huge win for us, and it puts Christchurch back on the international map," he says.

"The Foo Fighters are arguably the biggest rock band in the world right now and they're known for going to extreme lengths to do things differently, so we're anticipating a spectacular event."

It will be a major production that will benefit local music and entertainment industry suppliers.

It will also boost the city's hospitality industry, bringing thousands of extra visitors to the city at a time when accommodation is already sought after as the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is being held at the same time.

The Foo Fighters, fronted by Nirvana's Dave Grohl, has a strong bond with Christchurch, promoter Brent Eccles says.

They last visited New Zealand in 2011, performing a special charity concert for the city.

That concert, held on March 22, 2011 in Auckland, raised $354,903 in support of the Christchurch earthquake appeal.

"I'm from Los Angeles and I've had a few shivers but nothing like what you guys experienced," Nate Mendel, bass player of Foo Fighters, told me in 2011. "For us it's more about offering a general feeling of support. We want to offer some comfort to the people of Christchurch, so they know that there are some people standing in their corner."

The world tour next year in support of new album Sonic Highways, released November 10, will see them playing stadium shows across Australasia, with support from Chicago rockers Rise Against.

The band are in their finest form yet and on the Sonic Highways tour they aim to make every night an unforgettable celebration of 20 years of Foo Fighters.

In the two decades since the 1995 release of their self-titled debut album, they have notched up 11 Grammy Awards, sold 25 million records worldwide and spawned countless hits.

In February, just a few days shy of the anniversary of the 2011 earthquakes, The Foo Fighters will perform in Christchurch to show they are still standing in our corner.

Tickets for both concerts go on sale to Frontier members from midday on November 11. General tickets available midday on November 13 from www.ticketek.co.nz for the Christchurch show and www.ticketmaster.co.nz for the Auckland concert.